


Boys, Batcaves, Photos, and Complications

by completelyhopeless



Series: Detective Grayson and Forensic Batgirl [4]
Category: DCU
Genre: Alternate Universe, Case Fic, F/M, Gen, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-29
Updated: 2014-12-29
Packaged: 2018-03-04 05:55:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,377
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2954696
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/completelyhopeless/pseuds/completelyhopeless
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Dick refuses to tell Barbara about what Jason went through, she seeks answers from Alfred. One of Alfred's other lost souls gets caught in the middle of things and finding one killer might be more complicated and dangerous than they knew, and they already knew it was bad.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Boys, Batcaves, Photos, and Complications

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, this is why I can't write chaptered fic. I lose my plot, other plots come in and try to take over, and I don't know what I'm doing anymore.
> 
> And I don't know why I thought it was a good idea for Tim to come in because I don't know enough about him and have never written him before.

* * *

“Tell me,” Barbara ordered, going to Dick's cupboards and making a guess about which one of them had the coffee. The one above the coffee pot, to the right of the sink, opened up to reveal a bunch of junk and a can of the cheapest coffee known to Gotham. She bet he would have starved if he didn't go out to dinner almost every night.

“No.”

She set the can on the counter and looked back at him. “Excuse me?”

Dick crossed over and leaned against his sink. In the flickering light of his kitchen, he looked pale and sick, worse than he had when she'd dragged him into the hospital or when he'd been examined by his friend Alfred. She should have let him sleep, but she'd been too angry after she looked up the name Bruce had given her to sit still. She'd had to confront Dick right then.

“It's not my story to tell. Jay and I... It's complicated. He barely trusts me, and half the reason he won't go anywhere near Alfred is because Bruce hounded him about it. He was so focused on his case he didn't care how much it cost Jason to go through all that again. He was a messed up kid, and he needed help. Bruce wanted answers first.”

“And you?”

“I tried to be the middle ground, tried to help, but it wasn't enough.”

“And you blame yourself for that,” she finished, shaking her head. He had a martyr complex a mile wide. She didn't know what she was going to do with him. She didn't want to have to save him from himself, but she might have to, and she knew it wouldn't be easy.

“Look, whatever I did wrong back then, it's not important. It doesn't matter. What does matter is stopping Maroni.”

She folded her arms over her chest. “You really think this can be done without what Jason knows?”

“It has to be,” Dick insisted. “I won't put him through that again. We already found Maroni without dragging him into this. Babs, please, don't make me break that promise. I let Jason down before, and I won't do it again.”

“You are noble, Dick, but that might not be enough,” she warned him, moving over to touch his arm. “Do you really think it's any better to keep Jason out of this in some misguided idea of protecting him? You told me earlier you didn't want Bruce doing that to you. Why is it okay for you to do it to Jason?”

“Jason is safe as long as they don't know where he is. He doesn't have to worry about them or about triggering his programming. If I take that away, if I put him in a situation where he has to kill again—I won't forgive myself,” Dick said, reaching over to cover her hand. “Please. We can work around it. There are other ways of catching Maroni.”

She let out a breath. “Only if you promise me that if we need to, we'll get Jason's help. We're not going to throw the case away because you want to protect him.”

“I wouldn't do that,” Dick said, frustration creeping into his voice. “I want Maroni. I just don't want to have to sacrifice Jason to get him.”

“Then promise me if we need him, you'll find him.”

“I will.”

“Okay.”

“Thank you,” he said. He leaned over and kissed her cheek. The touch was so light she would hardly have noticed it if she hadn't seen him move to do it.

“Dick—”

“It's late. I'd offer you my bed and take the couch—”

“Only your ribs are bruised and your couch is only fit for the trash. Don't worry about it, Guilt Trip Wonder. I can find my own way out.”

“Guilt Trip Wonder? What kind of a nickname is that?”

She just laughed as she headed toward the door.

* * *

“Thank you for meeting me here,” Barbara said, almost embarrassed by the state of her lab. She didn't leave it a mess, ever, because it needed to be sterile, needed to be organized for the work she did, but somehow she felt put to shame compared to the way Alfred had his shelter. He seemed so much more together, in control, of everything he touched. She felt like her lab was a pigsty of disorder. “I wish I'd been able to make it down to see you, but it's been so crazy today that I couldn't get away.”

“It's fine, Miss Gordon, so long as you don't mind me bringing a part of my work with me today. This is Master Timothy. He has been of some assistance to me in the past few months,” Alfred said, pushing a young teen forward. “Master Timothy, this is Miss Gordon. She is an associate of mine.”

“Wow. This lab is awesome.”

“Thank you,” she told him with a smile. She pointed to the camera slung over the boy's neck. “That's a nice piece of equipment you've got there. I tried to requisition one and got turned down, had to settle for one of lesser quality, and the details are never quite right.”

He cradled his camera in his hands. “I like taking pictures. Sometimes Bruce gives me money for them if they help him with a case. Not that I really need it, but I like helping.”

“I might have to hire you myself.”

He smiled at her, she wondered if that was a rare thing, since Alfred's look of approval over the boy's head was wide, more than she would have thought the old man was capable of. “That would be so cool.”

She turned to Alfred, taking a breath and letting it out. “I need to ask you about Jason.”

Alfred stiffened. “Miss Gordon, I do not believe that that I can be of any assistance in that matter. I haven't spoken to Master Jason in some time. Only Master Richard has.”

“I figured that much out already. I'm not asking about his location, Alfred. I don't have to know that—at least I don't think I do—what I need to ask about is in the past.” 

“Oh, dear,” Alfred said. He looked like that might actually be worse than her suspecting Jason was involved in a crime now. “Master Timothy, I think—”

“You want me to go, don't you? No kids for the big grown up discussion.”

“It is more that I am trying to honor a promise that both myself and Master Richard made years ago. This is not something I wish to break, nor would you care for me if I did.”

Barbara forced a smile. “You know, Tim, if you didn't mind, I need someone to run some results upstairs for me. You don't have to do anything more than hand them to Detective Grayson for me.”

“Dick's here? Why didn't anyone say that?” Tim asked. “Give me the results. I'll go right now.”

Alfred smiled at him. Barbara printed out a sheet that she would have just sent to Dick's tablet if she and Alfred didn't need to have this discussion in private. She didn't even want to do it now, since sending the boy to Dick would tell him that Alfred was here. She gave the paper to the boy, who rushed off with it like he was on a mission.

“Excellent distraction, and yet a failed one as well,” Alfred observed. “If the idea was to speak to me without Master Richard knowing, that has indeed been spoiled.”

“I know. I just... Dick's a _little_ overprotective of Jason, and he wouldn't tell me anything about him. I couldn't find any trace of him in the system. It's like someone went in there and erased any sign that Jason Todd ever existed.” Barbara shook her head. “I can guess who that was, but if Dick won't tell me and I can't look it up, I need someone to give me answers.”

“I do not know most of them. You would have been better off asking Master Bruce.”

“Bruce refused to tell me anything as well. All he seems to be interested in is keeping Dick from working this case.”

“I am afraid Master Bruce is like that about all Master Richard's cases.”

She nodded. “I figured that out myself. Please, just tell me what you can about Jason.”

Alfred let out a breath. “Master Jason was a troubled young man when Master Richard found him. He befriended him and used him as an informant during one of Master Bruce's... troubled times. He could not take in another child when he was barely holding himself together, and perhaps that is where some of the problem between those two arises, in that first misstep with Jason.”

“What happened to him?”

“As I understand it, the boy was taken to be some kind of... assassin. We saw no signs of the programming at first. He was a brash, impetuous youth, had an attitude problem, but he seemed to have found a good place with Richard despite everything. Then one day he... snapped. Would have put Richard in the hospital if the boy had been willing to go.” Alfred shook his head, affected by the memories. “In any event, Richard did not lose faith in Jason. He searched everywhere for an answer to what had altered him so radically. Finding the source was not without cost, though Richard did do it.”

“He found out about these people kidnapping children and turning them into killers.”

“Yes.”

Barbara met the old man's eyes and held his gaze. “Was Dick one of them, too?”

“That I fear was never proven one way or another,” Alfred said. “It has been impossible to ascertain from Richard's fractured memories following the death of his parents, and while he has some skill in fighting and other arts, he was not only raised in a circus, he was also raised by a former cop and private investigator with considerable talent for street fighting as well as trained martial arts. When Master Richard acts out of reflex, it is not necessarily that of some assassin training in his youth. Even Master Jason's was initially hard to separate from his days on the streets.”

Barbara nodded. She doubted that Dick was willing to look closely into his own memories—or that Alfred or Bruce wanted him to—but almost all of them seemed more willing to expose Jason to that instead. “Jason has memories of that time, though. He knows what they did in training him into a killer. He _did_ kill.”

“Master Richard has always insisted that was justifiable and done in defense. It was difficult to convince Jason of that,” Alfred said. He sighed, shaking his head. “I am afraid it was difficult for others to see it that way as well.”

“Bruce.”

“Yes.” Alfred took out his pocket watch and checked it. “Jason has been in seclusion since the last incident. He rarely contacts Richard, and Richard does not tell us when he does. I sincerely hope, for both their sakes, that you are mistaken about this case and it has nothing to do with their pasts.”

“I wish that were true, too.”

* * *

“That's a fancy little camera. Don't know what a little punk like you is doing with it, but why don't you give it to an adult that can do some real work with it? Or don't you want to admit you're dealing with stolen goods?” Kowlinski's voice carried across the squad room as Dick entered it, trying to balance the drink tray in one hand while another cop bumped him on purpose. That made five today. He might get a record out of this.

“I'm not! This is my camera! My parents bought it for me. Give that back!”

“Damn, Kowlinski, you can't stop bullying for a minute, can you?” Dick called, shaking his head as he got closer to where the boy was struggling to get his camera back from a man twice his size—twice as wide, at least. Dick put the coffee down on his desk.

“Stay out of this. It don't concern you, Grayson. You don't need to put your nose in every bit of police business. You shouldn't even be here. You're injured. No good to anyone.”

Dick snorted. “And how far from your head was that pen yesterday?”

Kowlinski scowled at him. Dick lifted one another pen, turning it over in his fingers, making the threat clear.

“Give him back the camera. Now. And don't think for one damn minute it doesn't concern me. I swear, Tim, if Bruce sent you here—”

“No, I came with Alfred, I swear. Scout's honor.”

Dick laughed. They both knew none of them had ever been a boy scout, but it was amusing anyway. He waved Tim over to his desk when Kowlinski handed him back the camera. He sat down, not adjusting for his ribs even though he should. He wouldn't give Kowlinski the satisfaction. He moved the coffee over, creating a small space on the desk.

“Have a seat, Tim.”

The boy glanced at the spot he'd cleared and back at Dick. Dick shrugged. Tim glanced toward Kowlinski and tightened his grip on the camera. “Is he really a cop?”

“Yes.”

Tim didn't look like he believed that, and Dick couldn't blame him, but he didn't like the new suspicion that brought up about Kowlinski's reaction to the camera. He shook his head. He hated being paranoid, but with Kowlinski, it might not be paranoia. 

“Alfred is down with Babs, isn't he?”

“Um... Yeah. She asked me to give this to you.”

Dick took the results and folded them up without looking at them. That he could discuss with her later. He'd known she'd seek other sources for information on Jason, but he'd hoped it wouldn't be this soon. He had wanted to talk to Alfred again first. “Come on.”

“Going down to the batcave again, Grayson? It's good your girlfriend has a brain, otherwise you'd never solve a case.”

“That's not true,” Tim said, immediately defending him. “Dick is a great detective. He's almost the best. He broke up a counterfeiting ring when he was _ten._ He's the Boy Wonder.”

Dick winced. He'd forgotten the press called him that. No wonder Babs had corrupted it last night. He reached for the coffee. “No, I'm not. Let's go.”

“Yes, you are. You were—”

“Bruce let me take credit for that bust so that the agency could have the publicity,” Dick said. “It was just a stunt. Nothing more. I need to discuss this with Babs and you need to get back to Alfred, so move. Now.”

Tim frowned, and Dick ushered him toward the elevator. “That's not true. You know it isn't. Bruce would never let someone else take credit for one of his busts.”

“It was a different time back then,” Dick told him. “The agency was facing bankruptcy and Bruce was drinking heavily. We needed it to keep going. That's all it was.”

He supposed it wasn't fair to crush the kid like that, but he needed Kowlinski believing that Dick wasn't that good a cop. He needed everyone to underestimate him. He worked better that way. He pushed Tim into the elevator and pushed the button for Barbara's lab.

* * *

“Is there another way out of your lab?”

Barbara turned, frowning. She folded her arms over her chest, wrinkling up her lab coat and pushing her id out at a weird angle. She seemed suspicious, and Dick couldn't blame her, since they weren't exactly on the best of terms.

“Why do you need an alternate egress?” Alfred asked, his own question showing he knew too much about Dick and the way he'd asked the question.

“I don't. You do. You and Tim both,” Dick said, taking Tim's camera and opening the back to pull out the storage card. He handed to Babs. “I think Tim has pictures on there of Kowlinski doing something illegal, and if he does, he can't stay here. It's not safe.”

“This is a police station. It should be safer than anywhere else.”

“Not when Kowlinski is a cop and has his own 'gang' of cops that follows him and does whatever stupid thing he tells them to, it isn't,” Dick said, leaning against the counter. “These cops aren't like Bruce used to be, aren't like Babs' father. They're corrupt, and I don't know how far it goes yet, so we need to get you and Tim out and somewhere safe.”

Barbara went to the computer, putting the card in and looking through the pictures. “Are you sure Kowlinski knows Tim has the photos?”

“He's a bully, but the way he was going after Tim's camera... My gut says he knows. I'd rather not take any chances either way. I've never liked or trusted Kowlinski, and I know he's dirty, but if Tim's got proof, then I want it and I want him somewhere where no one can touch him.”

“Does that mean you'll send me to Jason?”

Dick tensed. On the one hand, it was a good idea because no one could protect him like Jason could. On the other, it was the worst idea ever because Jason's moods were unpredictable and he still kind of hated Tim because Bruce took him on when he wouldn't help Jason—and Tim's family had money. He didn't need help the same way Jason had, wasn't trying to avoid the kind of life the streets held for kids. To Jason, Tim was just a bored rich kid.

“No.”

“If Master Jason is involved in—”

“No, Alfred, and we are going to have a very long discussion later about your little visit here,” Dick said, shaking his head. “I swear, sometimes you are worse than Bruce, and no one should be worse than Bruce because he's a mess.”

Alfred's mouth thinned into a line.

“If he's such a mess, why'd you stop working with him?” Tim asked. “You know he needs you, right? He's got more work than he can handle, and he says sometimes he might hire me full time, but he doesn't ever do it. He's still waiting for you to come back.”

Dick shook his head. “There's a thin line between helping and enabling, and if I went back, that's all I'd do. It's all I did before. I used to think I was doing the right thing by getting him through his bad patches, but I was making it possible for him to have them. He knew I'd pick up the pieces, keep things going, and I did. I can't go back to that, not now. Not ever. For me, and for him, I have to keep my distance.”

Barbara had stopped clicking through the pictures and was now looking at him. Dick shrugged. “Sorry. Didn't mean to get all of our emotional baggage all over your lab. You got anything yet?”

“I think maybe Tim should consider a career as a photographer instead. He's got an eye for it,” she told him with a smile, reaching over to ruffle the kid's hair in a way he hated. “Let's see here. I think Tim has a crush on this one—so many photos—”

“Hey!”

“I think you have officially been adopted,” Dick said, amused. “Say hello to your big sister. Or is it the other way around? Babs, you've got yourself a little brother.”

“Funny, I thought I already had one of them,” she said, grinning at him, and Dick rolled his eyes. The thought did cross his mind that if she saw him as a brother some of his random thoughts would end up in nothing but pain, but they had a case to focus on, and if there was one thing Bruce had taught him, it was how to put a case first above all else.

“That's not the way it works—”

“Dick,” Barbara cut in, her voice sharp as she did. He heard dozens of unspoken curses in it, knowing that she was holding back because of Alfred and Tim.

“Oh, hell,” he muttered. This day—this damned _case_ —just got better and better. “Kowlinski's working with Maroni.”


End file.
